Gretchen Whitmer on Government Reform

Promote universal voter access

It is too hard to register and to vote in Michigan. Everyone who applies for a driver's license or state ID should be automatically registered to vote, and any registered voters should be able to vote absentee or by mail.
As a legislator, I fought to ensure valid ballots from our service members overseas were counted, to prevent voters from being turned away at the polls, and to allow same-day voter registration.

No photo ID for absentee voting

Legislative Summary:A person who applies in person to register to vote shall identify himself or herself by presenting an official state identification card issued to that person. The secretary of state shall develop a voter registration
training program for third-party voter registration organizations that teaches the proper procedure for taking a voter registration application.

Veto Summary:SB754 precludes voter registration groups from receiving and delivering
registration applications until at least one member of their organization has received training. While our current Secretary of State would be very proactive on offering training, it is important to ensure that future officials provide proper training.
Voting rights are precious and we need to work especially hard to make it possible for people to vote.